Pentagon: ‘No changes’ so far to US-Saudi military relations after Khashoggi report
US military officials have taken point on maintaining ties with Middle Eastern leaders as the Biden administration talks tough on human rights.
The Pentagon on Monday sought to distance its enduring ties with Saudi Arabia’s military from the Biden administration’s move to penalize Saudi personnel over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Right now, I know of no changes to the military-to-military relationship,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
“Broadly speaking, certainly the relationship from a bilateral perspective is going to be different under this administration than it was under the last,” Kirby said, citing a declassified intelligence report released last week that implicated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Militarily speaking, we have obligations there in Saudi Arabia. And we’re going to continue to meet those obligations,” Kirby said, without offering specifics.
